Aurora Cannabis receives Aurora Eau production licence

Aurora Cannabis Inc. has received a Health Canada production licence for its Aurora Eau facility in Lachute, Que. The company now has seven facilities licensed for production, with a combined production capacity in excess of 160,000 kilograms per year. Aurora has additional facilities under development, bringing the total financed capacity to more than 500,000 kilograms per year.

Additionally, Aurora, through its wholly owned subsidiary Medreleaf Corp., has received its oils production licence for its Bradford facility, which at full capacity is a 28,000-kilogram-per-year cultivation facility. Medreleaf Bradford features a high-volume carbon dioxide extraction facility, which will significantly increase oils production, and is in the process of stockpiling significant quantities of derivative products in anticipation of receipt of its sales licence.

Aurora Eau, a 48,000-square-foot facility with a production capacity of 4,500 kilograms per year, was purpose built to European Union GMP (good manufacturing practices) standards and represents the next evolution in Aurora's indoor-grow facilities. Aurora Eau has been built to allow flexibility in all key production parameters to optimally accommodate the company's current exotic cultivars as well as new strains not yet launched and new genetics under development, intended for both the medical-use and adult-consumer-use markets.

Located in Lachute, Que., Aurora Eau is built on 46 acres of prime agricultural land, which Aurora has the right to purchase for $136,000 for future expansion purposes. This would expand the company's weighted footprint in Quebec, providing additional capacity to support future product development and distribution.

The company will continue to progress, as with its other facilities, towards obtaining EU GMP certification, as part of the company's commitment to the Aurora standard and further supply chain diversification. To date, Aurora has two EU GMP cultivation facilities in Canada as well as an EU GMP-certified facility located in Germany, run by its wholly owned subsidiary Aurora Europe GmbH, for the import, release and distribution of cannabis.

Cultivation commenced at Eau

Cultivation has commenced at Aurora Eau, following receipt of a mix of clones and mature plants using a custom-built, environmentally controlled transporter, designed by Aurora's wholly owned subsidiary, B.C. Northern Lights. The new transporter allows Aurora to transport high volumes of clones and mothers cost-effectively, enabling the rapid population of new facilities. Following the successful transfer, Aurora Eau is now in full production.

Management commentary

"We are proud of the achievements at Aurora Eau, and, with seven production licences, we are exceptionally well positioned to continue executing on our early-mover advantage, in both the Canadian and the international markets," said Terry Booth, chief executive officer of Aurora. "With large-scale production scaling up at Aurora Sky, we have the ability to dedicate production from Aurora Eau to niche markets, thereby growing our brand recognition and enhancing our margin profile. Our new oils production licence at Bradford further increases our capacity to produce higher-margin oils and drive growth."

Option and restricted stock unit grant

The company granted a total of 116,000 options to a director of the company exercisable at $9.03 per share. The options have a term of five years and vest annually over 36 months. Additionally, 128,527 restricted stock units were awarded to a director of the company, of which, 8,859 vest Dec. 31, 2018, and 119,668 vest annually over 36 months.

About Aurora Cannabis Inc.

Headquartered in Edmonton, Alta., Canada, with financed capacity in excess of 570,000 kilograms per year and sales and operations in 14 countries across five continents, Aurora is one of the world's largest and leading cannabis companies. Aurora is vertically integrated and horizontally diversified across every key segment of the value chain, from facility engineering and design to cannabis breeding and genetics research, cannabis and hemp production, derivatives, high-value-add product development, home cultivation, and wholesale and retail distribution.